Let's say he didn't do anything else bad after the three rapes - what's the point in imprisoning him now? It's not like rehabilitation would be required.

Well, only if you think that the "point' of laws are to punish and imprison the actual offender, and not, for instance, to assure the community at large that the rule of law is in fact enforced. It's a true and statistically and empirically proven fact, for instance, that the majority of murderers only commit one murder; if they are not caught (and punished) they're not going to commit another murder ever again. John List is an obvious example: He murdered his entire family one day, and was found something like 35 years later (with another whole family) having never acquired so much as a parking ticket in the meantime. Another guy in Southern California killed two cops after kidnapping four teenagers and raping one of them; he was found so many years later that he was a great-grandfather and the rape victim was in her 80's. He also had not reoffended in all that time.

Shall we say, Oh, well, then, no harm no foul? These guys are clearly no threat to society so let's just overlook the fact that they killed people a long time ago? I guess we could--if the only purpose of laws is to punish the offender. However, laws are also meant to stabilize society and assure the community that justice is a concrete thing and not merely an abstract concept. Laws and the guarantee of their execution--even after many years and no further offense--is what keeps people from taking justice into their own hands; the assurance that the authorities have things under control.

Bastard_Lunatic:Guy kept out of trouble for 35 years. Kind of torn on this one. If the purpose of prison is rehabilitation what is it going to achieve now?

I feel like this would actually be a really good sentencing program. Assuming you haven't been convicted of major like murder or, well, rape, you get put on a super-probation. Your prison sentence is suspended and you are free to go on about your life on one condition: if you get so much as a parking ticket, we're bringing you in. Seems like it would be a pretty good incentive to play it straight.

ukexpat:I don't get this "getting your affairs in order" crap. In the UK as soon as you are sentenced to imprisonment you are taken down to the holding cells then they whisk your ass straight off to prison.

In some cases, like Federal fraud crimes, where the offender is a business person and they're going to be going to prison and doing 85% of their time before they get parole; or where the offender has a clean record; US courts will sometimes release him between the trial and the start of his sentence to get everything taken care of--hand over the shop keys, sign the bank accounts over to his partner, kiss the kids goodbye. Not always. And not usually for violent crimes, so this is kind of odd.

ha-ha-guy:TheMysteriousStranger: Bastard_Lunatic: Guy kept out of trouble for 35 years. Kind of torn on this one. If the purpose of prison is rehabilitation what is it going to achieve now?

I might be torn because of the possibility that he has reformed. But he did do a serious crime -- the only thing he could done worse would have been is to have been a murderer. "Sorry" is not enough. And the message needs to be sent: if you rape a woman then you are screwed.

As others have said, it was rape in that the laws were shiatty and they nailed an 18 year year for sleeping some high school girls, I can't really muster much outrage. In fact it was consensual sex that just got classified as stat rape, I'd say give the guy a pardon assuming he has 32 years of keeping his nose clean because really all his problems stem from shiatty laws. Doubly so with the pardon if other people were released once the state realized the law was stupid, changed it, and handed out parole/early release to everyone they convicted with it.

Whereas if it was violent rape, date rape, or any such thing, off to the jail cell with him.

it's like you guys didn't read the article. the prosecutor described the circumstances of his crime: "...would ambush teenaged girls or young woman when he chanced upon them while driving his car. Once he saw a woman he wanted to sexually assault, Sabadini said Irving would drive ahead on the road the woman was walking on, park his car, and then lurk in the bushes until the woman came nearby."

While it's awesome they crack the cold cases from time to time this case is a classic example of what's wrong with out legal system. It's slow as all hell and doesn't provide justice.

Put yourself in those women's shoes. I'm jogging, this kid rapes me. I call the police, they catch him, try him, and convict him, and then lose him. He's out there for 34 years. It's a lifetime and they guy who attacked me is still out there lurking. Who knows where he is? Catching him now won't give me back my safety during those 34 years. Regardless of what happens now, it's an L.

Hell, even if he went to federal prison what's stopping him from raping other people? Prisoners are people, too. You can rape 'em. Ask the Booty Warrior.

If he ever gets out, he'll be nothing but an unemployable rapist with years upon years of training under his belt. Maybe you'll never be attacked again by him, but a hobo with a black belt in rapeyujitsu is what is smelted from the crucible of long incarceration. Still not safety, still not justice.

But doglover, how can we give the legal system true justice? I'm glad you asked. When two men argued over ownership of a goat, wise king solomon had the goat cut in half to teach them. If we just cut rapists in half I'm pretty sure it will all work out.